


Once is Painful; Twice is Tragic

by CrystalDragonette



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Dude is actually a background character in the first episode, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 15:53:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13391154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalDragonette/pseuds/CrystalDragonette
Summary: It's been years since they left Earth. Lance has been blasted through a wormhole and is now back on his beloved planet, but more importantly he has encountered someone precious to him. Will he be willing to leave again?





	Once is Painful; Twice is Tragic

**Author's Note:**

> The background character was first dubbed "blonde mullet instructor" but then named Roy. You can all thank blf19 on Tumblr for this.

“Lance!”

“Buddy, can you hear me?”

“What’s going on?”

“Lance, answer us!”

.  
.  
.

Everything hurt; it hurt to move, hurt to breathe, it even hurt to think. The gentle nudge, painful as it was, in the back of his mind let him know that Blue was at least conscious. Slowly, he shifted, taking note of the twinge just under his ribs, and opened his eyes. All monitors seemed to be off, faint light coming from the controls. 

“Blue, baby girl, can you get the monitors back running?” He mumbled before straightening up as best he could. “This is not good…” After a few minutes, he sighed, slumping. “I guess that’s a no go. Hey, no, don’t do that.” Blue had nudged sadly in his mind, “It’s not your fault. Not at all, sweetheart.” Lance leaned back, closing his eyes. This hadn’t been the first time this had happened but Blue seemed off; something was wrong and she was hiding it. He began talking as he turned on his comm. “Shiro, can you hear me?” After a moment he tried again, “Pidge, my green little pest, are you getting any of this?....Hunk? My main man?... Mierda...Keith? Allura, come on, talk to me!” He took his helmet off, throwing it. He could feel that Blue was just as upset as him and he sighed, petting one of the walls. “Sorry, girl. Didn’t mean to throw a fit.”

\---

“What do you mean we lost Lance and Blue?!”

“Hunk, please-”

“No! I’m not letting this go again! Princess, why can’t we track them?”

Allura sighed, pulling up everything for the Paladins to see. “I’m not sure.. The Blue lion may be too heavily damaged… or he may have been…” Her face grew grim, this wasn’t supposed to happen; it was suppose to be a supply stop.

“Don’t say it.” Keith finally spoke up, arms crossed, his body tense. “He isn’t dead. Lance is too stubborn to die.”

“Keith, the possibility-” Allura sighed as Keith slammed his fist into the wall. He was taking it almost as bad as Hunk.

“The possibility is close to zero!” He snapped before storming out.

The princess sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking at Shiro who nodded and followed after the red paladin. Turning to the others, she began again. “The probability of Lance… of Lance being dead is extremely high but be assured that Coran and I are working to find him, although it is taking time since it seems he fell through a wormhole. I don’t know how or why one was made.”

“Allura, do you think it was Blue? Maybe she was trying to protect Lance.” Pidge spoke up, her hand on Hunk’s arm, a small attempt to keep him calm. “I mean, they do share a close bond.”

“It is possible… If he had been caught in the blast, he wouldn’t have lived.” Hunk stiffened even more before burying his face in his hands, Pidge looking away. “You all need rest… It will be at least a few vargas before we know anything.”

Hunk immediately left, Pidge following slowly, looking as if she wanted to say more. Allura turned to Coran who looked doubtful. “Princess, this will take much longer-”

“I know, Coran, but it’s better to let them hope for now. Come, we need to start immediately. We must find him or who knows what will happen.”

 

\----

 

“Keith,” was the only thing Shiro said as he walked into the training room, eyes following the younger as he fought the gladiator. The crudeness of the blows dealt was a good indicator of how Keith was feeling; anger, remorse, desperation. When Keith didn’t acknowledge him, he sighed. “End training sequence!”

Keith whipped around, growling. “What the quiznak, Shiro?!”

“Language. I need you to calm down. No, don’t tell me you can’t. You’re not the only one upset about this.”

“This is different!”

“Your feelings do not make it different that we all want him back. We will find him. I promise.”

Keith watched him silently before deactivating his bayard and walking to Shiro who pulled him close. His shoulders shook as he buried his face in Shiro’s neck. “I can’t lose him, Shiro. I can’t lose him like I lost you.” Shiro rubbed his back, mumbling comforting words in his ear as Keith cried silently. “We’ll find him…” Shiro whispered more to himself than Keith. He wouldn’t fail, not again. Pulling back, he cupped Keith’s face, giving him a stern look. “You need sleep.”

“How do you expect me to sleep when he’s… when Lance is-”

“Lance isn’t dead. He’ll come back.”

\---

Lance stared the desert terrain, frowning as he walked around, the moon of the night sky lighting the way. Everything seemed… familiar. So much so that his heart gave an uncomfortable squeeze. He knew Blue was hiding something, but this?  
“Blue? Please tell me this is where I think I am…”  
After a moment of hesitation, She nudged through their bond. Lance’s grip on his bayard slackened as he looked around, taking in shaky breaths. Hooking the bayard back onto his suit, he pulled his helmet off and breathed in. Home. He was home. After three years, he was back on Earth. He let out a choked laugh before freezing, the sound of footsteps making their way to his ears.  
.  
.  
.  
“Lance?”

That voice. It couldn’t be.

“Lance… Is that you?”

The crash had to have damaged his brain somehow.

“Lance, please..” The voice seemed to choke up. This was real, please, let this be real.  
Lance turned around, hoping this wasn’t a dream. Before him stood Roy, the one instructor who had believed in him. The one person who did everything they could have to help him. The one person who could make his heart feel like this. He took a step forward, letting out a small whisper of the man’s name before they both collided with each other. Lance clung to him, trying so hard to not crying, and buried his face in the man’s neck.

Roy held him close, tears slowly falling. “Where were you… Lance, where did you go?” He whispered, tightening his hold. He couldn’t believe it. Lance was home. Lance, who had been gone three years, was back in his arms. He was no longer a lanky boy. No, in his arms was a young man, covered in scars, whose build was so much larger than before. What had happened to him?

Lance looked up at him, gripping the back of his uniform. “ You wouldn’t believe it. Roy… Roy, Shiro’s alive! He’s alive and so is Matt Holt. The Garrison lied. They lied….” There was a nudge in his mind and he let out a shuddered breath before straightening. “I need you to meet someone.” Grabbing Roy’s hand, pulling him as he walked quickly, Roy forgetting about the other officers in the area for the moment. He stared at Lance’s back, unable to comprehend what was happening.

Lance grinned, pulling him to the large rocks that hid Blue. He felt her purring, her heart soaring for the happiness Lance felt. He tugged the blonde around the rocks, Blue laying in wait. Roy froze eyes wide as he looked up at the robot. What was going on? This… This had to be a dream, there was no denying it now.

“Lance… Lance, what’s going on?” He begged.

Lance turned to him, looking at him with eyes that held so much pain that it caused Roy’s heart to clutch. What had happened to boy he knew? To the boy he would have given his heart to if he was given the chance.

“Mi cielito..” Lance raised his hand, cupping Roy’s face gently. “So much… So much has happened… I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

Roy realized what the look in Lance’s eyes truly was. This was the look of someone who had been to hell and back, of someone who had seen the unthinkable. This was the look of someone who had been to war and finally, Roy’s heart shattered.


End file.
